


in which hearthstone drags himself [blitzstone]

by KanekiKenIsCrying



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Blitzstone, M/M, fr tho, gaaay, magnus chase - Freeform, magnus chase and the gods of asgard, sword of summer, this is being published on three different fanfic sites lmao, will be continued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KanekiKenIsCrying/pseuds/KanekiKenIsCrying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[lowercase intended.]<br/>hearthstone always thought of himself as too broken to love. why would he think differently? his past destroyed him, from the abusive relationship with his parents to the loss of his brother. then, one day, he decides to leave. he leaves his world, and ends up getting more than he bargained for when he ends up on the doorstep of a black dwarf that is just really passionate about fashion.</p><p> </p><p>also known as me being really gay and shipping these two really hard and aNYWAY tell me what you think lmao</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hearthstone Literally Drags Himself

**Author's Note:**

> so, i didnt have wifi for 24+ hours and decided to reread sword of summer in that time. after reading 497 pages and finishing it, i was totally in love with blitzstone all over again lmao.
> 
> i'm publishing this on wattpad, quotev, and here. this is my original work, feedback is appreciated. i do not own rick riordans characters. they would be canon if i did.

reminder: this is my first fanfiction related to magnus chase. our wifi was out for 24+ hours, so i reread sword of summer in less than a day and basically became inspired from all of the blitzstone i didnt notice before. have fun. still not sure if this will be multichaptered.  
-

hearthstone didn't know what he was going to do after he left Alfheim. pursue magic, of course, but... then what? he had no plan. no strategy. no one on his side. no one would want to assist the tall, pale elf that couldnt hear a thing. he was a charity case with no donations.

despite all of that, he escaped his home during the time his abusive parents were resting in the next room. well, he hoped they were resting. he couldnt hear any activity.

while he was carefully navigating the world tree, he thought.

where would he go? there was no place that was right for him. no one wants a deaf friend. he wasnt attractive. with his paper-pale skin, anyone would be able to see his green veins as if his body was a roadmap. his white hair made him even more blinding, and all he could do to fight the white was to wear his black leather and pretend he was a badass. even that didnt work, because everyone could see through his cool façade. his grey, unnerving eyes totally gave him away.

bitter, hearthstone was only thinking about going ahead. he had never been on the world tree, because he simply didnt have a reason to use it. he didnt need to leave his room to practise his spellcasting, and that way no one would have a reason to bully him (even though they still did. a lot).

he had only heard of the dangers. for example, the enormous squirrel that would tell you things so nasty you would want to curl up in a ball and cry. but hearthstone didnt come across Ratatosk.

only a bloodthirsty deer.

hearthstone didnt hear it coming, of course. even his cautious glancing around every once-in-a-while didnt prevent the mammal from appearing right in front of him.

unsure of if it was rabid, he stopped walking immediately and nearly toppled off of the branch and into oblivion.

the deer was a few centimetres taller than him, so it must have been quite large. its eyes stared at him, unmoving, and hearthstone decided to take a risk.

he raised his arm, extending his long fingers towards the animals snout. for a moment, all they did was hang there.

but then, they nearly came off because the deer snapped at him so fast. his elvish reflexes almost didnt kick in, but then suddenly hearthstone was running so fast he almost forgot to breathe.

hearthstone never ran. not even from his parents or the kids in school. he always took it 'like a man'. gym class was helheim for him, but its not like he ever complained.

remembering that he was running for his life, he glanced behind him - rule one: never glance behind you - and nearly got his nose bitten off for it. the deer was an inch behind him, so he picked up the pace.

well, he tried to pick up the pace.

when he urged himself to run faster, his pointy boot got caught on a particularly large root that was raised. he stumbled, rolling off of the branch.

by whatever luck, he didnt fall into the chasm. instead, he landed on his back on a branch about fifteen feet below - fucking ow - and was anchored there by his own fear. the breath was knocked out of him, and he tried to regain it by taking a moment to recover.

he soon realised that he didnt get that moment. the blood-thirsty deer peered down from above him and ground his hooves on the bark. hearthstone saw his measly life flash before his eyes as the deer leaped down, aiming right at hearthstone's head.

hearthstone prayed to the gods as he rolled to his left and fell into a random portal to a world he was unfamiliar with, the last thing he saw being the deer's furious, snarled expression.

-

when hearthstone woke up, he had absolutely no idea where he was. he opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. this place was too dark. his eyes were not yet used to it.

determined to find out he was not in danger, he opened his eyes and sat up, but pain flared through his spine and his legs protested. he felt himself let out a small whimper.

he leaned against the wall (which he noticed was covered in graffiti) and took in his surroundings. when he turned his neck to look around more, he felt it pop and instantly recoiled.

hearthstone went to feel his neck, raising his arm, but he felt weak. how long had it been nighttime? what time is it, anyway?

he was sure he could wait out night and replenish himself when the sun came out, but he didnt know how long he had been laying there. it felt like a long time, because his bones were stiff and unresponsive. surely someone would have come and woken him up! he was sleeping in a corner in a dark place, wouldnt that cause some commotion?

hearthstone decided to wait. and he did- for hours, it felt like. no sun came. no one even walked past him.

finally, with his muscles demanding him to lay back down, he got up. with shaky legs, he went left and hoped it was the right direction for some help.

he found people, but if he was expecting assistance, he came to the wrong place. hearthstone came across a group of short men that were chatting and drinking mead around a table.

when hearthstone came closer, wanting to crawl but stood, they all looked up.

a short, fat one looked the elf up and down and said something to his pals. it must have been a joke, because they all laughed and slapped him on the back.

hearthstone couldnt even attempt to read any of these mens lips. their beards were too bushy and ungroomed, and hearthstone could see their brown, ugly teeth when they opened their mouths to cackle at him.

if they could help him, then hearthstone didnt want them to. he moved on, and almost made it past their table when one of the men kicked out his stubby leg and tripped hearthstone and made him fall on his face.

these men were definitely dwarves. hearthstone had met a few back in school, and they were the rudest maggots he'd ever met.

hearthstone couldnt find the strength to get up. instead, he took his pride and threw it in the trashcan and started dragging himself down the street. his jacket and pants were getting dirty, no doubt, but he was never that conscience about his clothing. if it was black, it was his. it was as simple as that.

after an hour of navigating himself down twisty, dirty roads, hearthstone found himself in front of a house with a yard and a fence. maybe a nice old lady dwarf could assist him. he heard white picket fences were innocent and safe.

so, with the last of his strength, he pulled himself onto the stoop of the house and used his aching arm to do three pitiful knocks before he slouched against the wall and passed out from lack of sunlight.


	2. Hearthstone Naps in Hot Plastic and Nearly Breaks His Nose

  blitzen came back from going to nabbi's place and was very tired.

this, of course, was an understatement.

  going to nabbi's was always tiring, because most of the time, junior was there, and when junior was there, his bodyguards were there, and when his bodyguards were there, nome of the customers were, because they all left because junior and his bodyguards smelt so bad there might as well have been three trashcans standing in their places.

  of course, nabbi was just as bad, but different. nabbi smelt like a clogged toilet threw up on him and tossed him around inside of Junior the Trashcan. nabbi and junior were both very aged, but their liver-spots werent endearing and their skin didnt smell like old person.

  blitzen's neighbor, matilda, always smelt good. she was also old and lived right next door, and her constant watering made the smell of flowers rub off on her. because of the daily hug she receives from blitzen when he goes to nabbi's, blitzen smells like flowers.

  never put flowers next to three trashcans and a clogged toilet. you'll get what febreeze doesnt want.

  so, blitzen came back from nabbi's, the smell of the trashcan and clogged toilet squad in place of the daisies. he immediately went inside to take a shower and finish by putting on a pumpkin-orange dress shirt with matching slippers and black slacks. he didnt put on a blazer, because who would he be seeing for the rest of the day?

  blitzen was just about to turn his stove on when-

  Knock, knock, knock.

  even though the knocks were not loud, blitzen was not expecting them and nearly tossed a can of chili through his window.

  he put down the can and straightened himself out, striding over to the peephole.

  he didnt have to get on his toes to look out, because doors and basically everything was naturally more compact in nidavellir.

  looking through the glass, he didnt see anything that would have made that noise. prepared to cuss some annoying kids out, blitzen pulled open the door, his left hand on his hip.

  "listen here, you fu-!" he began to yell, but there was a suddenly a light weight on his slipper.

  he looked down, surprised. there was a head that had fell down and used his foot as a cushion.

  "oh- oh my...," he stuttered. why was this dwarf so tall? and pale? better yet, why was he laying against blitzens front door?

  noticing the slow breathing of the dwarf, blitzen figured that he was asleep and couldnt harm him. pulling him inside (this guy was light!) he shut the door and picked up the pale boy bridal style and set him on the couch. what would it matter if he introduced the couch to him while he was asleep?

  "um..." blitzen didnt know what to do. this person seemed to be about his age, maybe a year younger. what was a seventeen year old doing at his doorstep unconscious?

  blitzen took a close look at the boy. he looked troubled, and noticed the green veins that showed through his skin.

  "oh! why didnt i realise?" blitzen instantly put together the facts. this guy was an elf! he had the pale skin, elegant features, and was obviously unprepared for lack of light...

  oh, duh. lack of light.

  "hold in there, buddy," blitzen said, more to himself than anybody. "gotta get you healthy, and that wont happen if i just... uh, not make a waterfowl."

  then, blitzen set to work.

-

  hearthstone woke up in a warm place, light shining through his eyelids. instantly welcoming it, he turned over onto his stomach to feel heat on his back, but his nose hit against hot plastic. instantly, he turned over onto his back again and tried to sit up, but the top of whatever he was in stopped him.

  hearthstone began to panic. where was he? did the old lady he hoped lived behind the white picket fence put him in an oven (that actually felt nice)? was he being cooked?

  hearthstone didnt want to be cooked. he had too- well, actually, he didnt have too much to live for, but he definitely needs to cross some more things off of his bucket list!

  hearthstone decided that banging on the top of this contraction would be best. someone might hear him, and let him escape. he felt more refreshed, even though his back still hurt.

  just as he was about to break one of the bulbs as a last result, the light disappeared and hearthstone was lifted up by two arms. he fought against them, pounding his now aching fists against his captors chest, but he wasnt getting anywhere.

  eventually, the person holding him set him down and waited for hearthstone to calm down.

  it took about thirty seconds before hearthstone stopped jerking around and closing his eyes. he didnt feel anyone touching him, so he cautiously opened his eyelids.

  he saw a modern living room. there was a flatscreen television, about seventy centimetres across on the opposite wall from where hearthstone was sitting. there was a white coffee table about a foot from his shin, which had multiple issues of Dwarf Weekly spread out on top of it, along with a red candle.

hearthstone looked down at the comfortable couch he was sitting on. it was black, and he traced little patterns it with his right hand before he noticed a thigh next to him.

hearthstone would have won a contest against the highest jumper in the worlds in that moment. he leaped off of the couch, putting his arms out.

the person on the couch didnt seem threatening, but definitely alarmed at hearthstones behaviour. maybe he was actually relaxed? either way, his eyebrows were raised any made him look startled, and his hair was damp-looking. his brown skin showed a hint of facial hair, as if this was the first time it'd grown and he didnt plan on shaving it.

no matter how hard hearthstone tried, he just didnt grow facial hair. yet another thing his father taunted him for, he recalled with a pain in his chest.

hearthstone was so busy feeling sorry for himself that he didnt realise the boy - man? - started speaking.

hearthstone looked at him, staring at his lips as they moved quickly. he couldnt keep up with what the dwarf was saying, though, so he put up his hands. the others' lips stopped moving completely.

hearthstone didnt know how to speak english. he didnt learn, didnt really want to, because he wouldnt have anyone to speak with.

but, it seemed like this guy was too startled to get that hearthstone was deaf. so, hearthstone needed to mouth what he wanted to 'say', because actually using his vocal chords seemed impossible right then.

please, hearthstone attempted to mouth. he signed at the same time, kind of as a nervous tick. stop. paper.

the man looked at him with that startled expression a few seconds more, and hearthstone saw as he processed what he saw.

"youre... oh, gods. i didnt... oh." blitzen didnt expect this. a deaf elf? how does that happen?

blitzen was so caught up in what he realised, he didnt even think about what the elf had requested until he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

he looked up, possibly expecting the elf to shout 'surprise! i'm not actually deaf!' but all he got was him pretending to write on a pad of paper.

"oh, right. of course," blitzen nodded and went over to his design table and picked up a pencil and a piece of paper. he handed it to the elf, who settled himself on the couch with his legs tucked underneath him and leant forward to use the coffee table as a flat surface.

when he gestured for blitzen to come and read it, it read:

i am sorry for coming in to your house. i thought you would be a sweet old lady that would help me. you are not a sweet old lady. but thank you for helping me

blitzen put down the paper and decided that he could learn about this elf after they'd both eaten something.

blitzen got his attention, then mimed bringing a utensil to his lips and chewing with raised eyebrows. the elf nodded eagerly, following blitzen to the kitchen.

-

ayy lmao to be continued


	3. he didnt pass out, i promise

hearthstone sat at the table politely, but he felt uncomfortable. the chair was small, and the tabletop was raised because his knees knocked against it.

but, with the promise of food, hearthstone delt with the pain.

a steaming bowl was set in front of him, and hearthstone started shoving it into his mouth after picking up his utensil. it was only chili, something he'd had a few times, but not eating anything since leaving Alfheim took a toll on him.

hearthstone looked up to see the man looking at him. he dropped his spoon, straightening his posture (and regretting it a moment later. goddamn deer).

the man blinked as if forgetting he was staring at hearthstone. "youre hurt, right? how did that happen?"

hearthstone could barely read this mans lips, because he was wiping his mouth with a napkin despite the lack of mess on his face.

hearthstone instantly recoiled after piecing together the words. he couldnt tell this guy. sure, he saved hearthstones life, but he seemed like he wasnt old enough to drink, let alone have his own home. this guys guardian would probably come in soon, an adult, and know immediately that hearthstone was weak and he would be sent right back to Alfheim.

hearthstone pretended not to understand the question instead of facing his problems. of course, that is how he got into this mess in the first place.

but the man persisted. placing the notepad in front of hearthstone and pushing away the bowl, there was a new question printed on it.

 _whats your name?,_ hearthstone read. without thinking about it, he raised his nimble hands and was already done with having the inside of his wrist facing him with two fingers out and then making a sort of bear claw towards the other man to spell out his name before realising that he didnt know he just signed H-E.

letting out a small sigh, hearthstone took the pen and scrawled out his name. he pushed the paper back over to the other guy, who was writing down his name.

hearthstone subtly peered down at the paper.  _blitzen._

 _at least now, i dont have to refer to blitzen by a pronoun_ , hearthstone thought. he looked away and out the clean window to see a gloomy sky (cave top? darkness?) that didnt go well with the green grass that was enclosed in the white picket fence.

there was a tap on his arm, and hearthstone jumped. he calmed himself and read the question from blitzen. _how old are you?_

 _i am seventeen years old._ hearthstone wrote, his pen lagging on the d. should he release this information? this would prove he was a minor.

through his hesitation, hearthstone didnt notice blitzen pulling the paper away, thinking he was done writing. hearthstone nearly got whiplash because he looked up so fast to see blitzens reaction.

instead of a huge scene, the only reaction that was thrown in hearthstones direction was a nod and a scribble of 'eighteen'.

blitzen, after seeing hearthstone read what he wrote, was pulling the pad back to him when fingers brushed his. startled, he looked up, and hearthstone was gripping the pad and pen with a fierce expression. he tugged on it gently, and blitzen let go.

slightly hesitant to write what he wanted, it took a moment and blitzen didnt rush hearthstone. _you live alone?_ he hurriedly pushed the pad over to blitzen and put a hand over his collarbone absently. he knead his finger back and forth, which was how he let out his anxiety when he couldnt get it out. his other hand tapped on the tabletop, constantly moving.

hearthstone was snapped out of his thoughts when blitzen got up from the table. his grey eyes followed his form as his legs led him to the countertop where some coffee was brewing. blitzen poured a cup for himself, then walked back to the table.

he set his mug down (which was... interestingly crafted, lightly-put. frankly, hearthstone was wondering why anyone would want a mug shaped like a duck) and looked at hearthstone with his high eyebrows raised even higher. "did you read this?"

hearthstone looked down at the pad of paper and there was something new written on it. _how long are you staying in nidavellir?_

hearthstone furrowed his dark eyebrows. how long _was_ he staying in nidavellir? he doesnt know anyone there. or anywhere else, really. going back to alfheim was definitely not an option. he'd already made one acquaintance (five? the dwarves didnt deserve the title) here in nidavellir. then again, the lack of sunlight would most certainly be a problem. its not like hearthstone could ask this stranger named after a midguardian reindeer to move the tanning bed to wherever hearthstone lived. the next thought that rammed into hearthstones head seemed so ridiculous that he let out something that sounded like a small cough and a hiccup.

what if hearthstone moved in with blitzen?

just to make up for the few minutes that hearthstone wasted coming up for a shitty answer to blitzens simple, innocent question, hearthstone decided to write down everything he thought of, which took another two minutes because he kept having to scribble out grammar he knew wasnt correct.

he finished, shuffling around as blitzen read over what he wrote with a small smile.

blitzen put down the paper, not passing it over to hearthstone because it didnt come to mind. "it doesnt matter how long youre planning on staying, actually. it seems like you dont have plans to go anywhere, so moving in with me would be amazing! youre basically my age. what could go wrong? this will be fantastic."

hearthstone sat there, processing blitzens words and was unsure of what he said. was he saying hearthstone should move in? he coudnt be. no one would want hearthstone to move in with them.

when he saw blitzen get up to go somewhere, hearthstone's hand flew up and grasped blitzens forearm. he felt drowsy.

"yes?" blitzen asked, "are you alright? you look a bit- well, whiter than normal." hearthstone let out a breath and shook his head quickly, feeling his brain rattle in his head. when did it get so hot in here?

blitzen wrapped his hand around hearthstones back, which was stiff. he shook his other hand free and coiled it behind his knee to haul him over his shoulder and shit, hearthstones head almost hit the ground he was so tall.

feeling like a clown (but a heroic one), blitzen maneuvered himself over to the counter where he quicky bumped it with his hip. a panel, followed by the tanning bed, came out and opened, and blitzen slid hearthstone carefully off of his shoulder and into it.

blitzen hoped that this would help hearthstone, because he had never seen anyone his age so distraught.

surely hearthstone had been over to someones house. living with someone is just an extended sleepover, and blitzen made sure to bring up that point when hearthstone came-to.

-

hearthstone was not asleep. he did not pass out, even though he felt like he would in a few minutes if he didnt calm down.

panic attacks were something that had always been a part of his life. whether he was stressing about a presentation, or he knew his parents would be angry at him, or even a wrong answer he wrote down in class. there would always come the sudden shortage of breath, and then the small sheen of sweat that would gather on his skin, and then hearthstone would quietly excuse himself and leave with long strides. he would hug himself, get away from whatever triggered the attack, assure himself it would all turn out okay.

it would always work. but now, hearthstone couldnt convince himself that this would all turn out okay. he ran away from home. he was in a strangers house who was an adult. hearthstone didnt know anyone, but he knew that if he went back to alfheim then he would enter willingly into his old life of hell and his parents and bullies would make sure he never forgot his moment of weakness.

hearthstone breathed in and out, relishing in the light in the tanning bed. he could do this, but he would need help. hearthstone needed something to drive him forward, something to bring out the best in him and make him feel good.

hearthstone needed to be happy, and he needed to be happy soon.

with a newfound confidence that he hoped wouldnt fade, hearthstone pushed open the tanning bed.


	4. blitzen is a responsible adult dwarf who happens to be good at making forts

blitzens only experience with living with someone came from before he moved out and overnight school trips.

  he didnt know the rules. was he supposed to prepare the meals? he was a bit rubbish at cooking. was he supposed to wake up hearthstone every morning? the elf might not be an early riser like blitzen. would he be irritated with blitzens occasional singing?

well, that was a stupid question.

  blitzen didnt have much time to scold himself. he was alerted back to reality by a creaking of a door, and hearthstone was sitting in front of him with a stony expression, his hands spread on the table to express that he was about to use them.

  hearthstone gulped and grabbed for the drawing pad and pen on the table to begin.

  he scribbled for what felt like hours, but that was only because he needed to find the right words and make sure his handwriting was legible.

  finally, a few minutes later, blitzen was handed the paper and hearthstone started tapping on the table absently.

  blitzen i do not know you. i would like to know you. we can be friends and we can have fun together and be happy together. i would like to live here i have nowhere else to go and this is the best choice.

  despite the questionable grammar in the paragraph, blitzen completely understood and loved that hearthstone was positive about being friends.

hearthstone didnt seem like he had any experience with friends. or communicating. or anything social. the best place to start would definitely mot be in public.

"alright, lets give you a tour then," blitzen said, making sure hearthstone saw. they both got up and hearthstone lagged behind blitzen.

"this is our kitchen, where we... cook stuff," he begins, sweeping his arms around. "and to get that tanning bed out, you just..." blitzen pushed a button next to the knife holder and the tanning bed automatically closed and creaked and folded into the floor.

blitzen didnt look at hearthstone, because now he was focused on trying not to make his home look like a dump. he went to the window and did a U-Turn to go into the living room and gestured vaguely. "this is... well, you know."

he went straight ahead through the hallway and took a right and walked into the room. hearthstone ducked and went inside to stand next to him silently.

"this is the bathroom. its the only one in the house, so..." blitzen cleared his throat. "anyways, the shower is naturally cold, sorry about that."

blitzen led hearthstone out and into the bedroom, which was opposite the bathroom. it wasnt grand, just had a queen-sized bed and a nightstand and a closet. "i actually only have this bedroom, but theres an upstairs that would work if youre okay with sleeping alone in that level."

hearthstone nodded and waited to be led upstairs, and he had to be turned around and led out the narrow doorway.

  they were back in front of the bathroom, and blitzen opened a door that was a few feet to the left of it. it revealed a set of steep stairs that he never could go up quickly, and he made sure to make hearthstone go up before him so he didnt trip and take them out.

  when he got to the top, he saw hearthstone dragging his finger lightly along the wall as he drifted toward the centre of lounges and couches.

it wasnt really a room that blitzen used. it was a workout to get up the stairs, and there wasnt really anything up there to do. he couldnt play any of the boardgames that were stacked in the closet because he was always by himself, and the couches were comfortable but lonely. there was a lot of room up there, just because it was only one huge area without any separating walls. a ring of black couches could be made into a huge closed-off square in the centre, but they were in a messy ring left by the previous owners of the house.

blitzen waited until hearthstone was done quickly sweeping his eyes over the scene before he started speaking.

"so, theres not a proper bed here, but you can fix up the couch pieces to set up a kind of fort," blitzen scratched his chin thoughtfully. "i could help you with that, if you'd like."

hearthstone was already nodding before blitzen finished speaking. he moved swiftly over to the pieces of furniture and began eagerly moving them around to try and make a solid fort of cushion, but without any idea of how to do it, he had to wait for blitzen to waltz over and assist him.

  the two friends let the time fly-by without even meaning to. after they tried to set up a fort, they had to plan how to do it because they just had a mess of pillows and pieces of couch the first time.

  their attack plan worked afterwards, and it took an hour and a half to complete it.

  it was a fort fit for a king (well, two). they had meshed the pieces of couch together to make the square of cushion, and in the middle they put two pool cues taped together with a large quilt over the top to have a ceiling high enough for hearthstone. no light filtered through at first, but then blitzen ran downstairs to fetch a few flashlights he had in his junk drawers.

  hearthstone waited patiently, his knees pulled up to his chest and his hands linking together on his shins.

  he had a dopey smile on his face- he couldnt help it! blitzen, this dwarf he had never even met before, had welcomed hearthstone into his life with short, open arms. he had made a couch fort with him for nearly two hours, for odins' sake!

it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him.

  hearthstone felt the couch cushions dip slightly, and then there was a beam of light that shown in his eyes.

  hearthstone shielded his gray eyes with his hand and made a pouty face. he felt the light disappear and then there was a hand leading his away from his face.

  hearthstone picked up the flashlight that blitzen had put down and turned it on, slowly trailing the light up blitzens chest and onto his face so he wouldnt be blinded.

  "so hearth, do you think you'll want to sleep here? the upstairs is all i have that you might enjoy," blitzen asked, settling himself and crossing his legs.

  there was a momentary silence, and he looked up expectantly. "hearth?"

  hearthstone nodded and pointed at blitzen, then made a call gesture with the same hand and pointed to himself and spelled out what blitzen had called him. you called me hearth.

  blitzen wasnt dumb. he knew a bit of the ASL alphabet, and he could tell what hearth was saying by the universal gestures he did.

  "yeah," he rushed. "it just slipped out- sorry, i didnt mean to, like-"

blitzen was interrupted when a hand patted his knee. he stopped talking and looked up at hearths illuminated face, which mouthed a word as he slowly signed.

may i call you blitz? he asked, maintaining eye contact with him.

blitzen blinked, but he shook himself and nodded.

hearth flashed a thumbs up, leaning back against the backrest behind him. the icy blue quilt rubbed against the top of his head and mussed up his unbrushed hair even more. he closed his eyes and yawned, bringing up a hand to cover his mouth.

hearth opened his eyes wearily, then sat up again while blitz watched as he absently fondled the flashlight.

what time is it? hearth asks.

blitzen didnt know. he had glanced at the oven clock while he had been getting the flashlights, and it had said eleven thirty. it'd been about a half an hour since then.

"i think its about twelve am," blitzen said shortly.

hearthstone nodded and turned over after excusing himself.

wait... its twelve am. fuck, i have to be awake at six! 

blitz poked hearth, who turned over. he blinked and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. blitz gave him a remorseful look, the flashlight shining in his face.

"im going to go downstairs. goodnight, wake me if you need anything," blitz began to crawl out of the fort, but then he threw a smile over his shoulder. "hearth."

and then he went downstairs, where sleep took over.

-  
a/n: waddup waddup i am using american times bc i dont think many people will get me if i use '23:30' or whatever, sorry if you like it better like that. also, i assigned their nicknames so i didnt have to keep typing 'blitzen' and 'hearthstone' lmao bye


	5. ma-tilt-a watering can

a/n: im so sorry for that dumbass pun i made the title omlll

hearthstone was the type of highschooler that woke up early and enjoyed it. yeah, he was a bit of a nightowl, but waking up early had never been a problem. blitzen seemed to think so, too, but he had made a very spontaneous leave when he realised what time it was. did he have somewhere to be, or did his parents give him a curfew? they dont even live together!

why was hearthstone worrying so much? he didnt need to be so intrusive, because he had only known blitz not even twenty four hours.

also, hearth hadnt eaten in more than twelve hours. his stomach rumbled right on cue.

he didnt pay attention to where blitz put his food. damn! that meant he had to take up blitz' offer of waking him up.

  hearth lay for another minute before sitting up and crawling out from under the fallen quilt, stretching and letting out a soft moan.

  hoping the nidavellir sky would tell him something about the time, he glanced out the skylight that was above the ruined fort. all that was shown was a gloomy darkness.

-

  blitzen needed to hurry. he usually got eight hours of sleep every single night without any interruptions, so only getting five really threw him off.

  today, he was more simple in the way he dressed. he was letting his beard grow out so he had something to show to nabbi and junior. their beards were like magnificent shag carpets! he was dressed in a midnight blue button up silk shirt with a black blazer and a black tie. he didnt know what they would make him do today, so he dressed simply (kind of).

blitz glanced at the clock as he put his things together; 5:45. he needed to leave right now.

he pulled out the pad of paper he and hearth had used the day before and got out a pencil to scrawl out a note that would notify the elf of where things were if he needed something.

with one last look around, he rushed outside and stopped short. matilda was outside with a watering can in her gnarled hand, and she looked up with a large smile.

  "hello, dear blitzen!" she called out from next door, beginning to walk down her steps and to the front of his house. his gate was open.

  "how are you this morning, matilda?" he asked politely, mentally cursing himself for forgetting about their daily chats.

  "oh, hun, i just love getting up early. you look flustered, whats the rush today?" she put a hand on her hip and didnt put down the watering can.

"oh," blitzen said, trying to hurry the conversation along, "just a crunch of time today. i have to leave right now."

she nodded, clucking her tongue in the way many elderly people do when they want to blame young people for 'the damned economy'. then she walked forward with her arms out, still holding the watering can.

blitzens eye twitched as a habit, but he swallowed down his annoyance and entered her embrace. she held on for a few seconds, rocking him back and forth like a mother.

then, all of a sudden, he felt a cold liquid all over his spine. instantly, he leaped out of her arms with a loud 'fuck!'.

"oh no! i am so sorry, blitzen! i didnt mean to!" matilda spilled. she dropped her treasured watering can finally, and stepped back.

blitzen didnt waste time. "matilda, you didnt mean to, i know. i'll just-" he glanced at her watch from a foot away. "oh no. i have to go."

"go change! dont be silly! those mangy drunks wont know the difference between six o' clock and twelve o' clock! i insist you go inside and change!"

he really couldnt argue, even though he wanted to. blitzen would never go to work with such an ugly stain on his clothes, even if they paid him a million.

"okay. have a nice rest of your morning, matilda!" he shouted instead of multiple curse words and jogged inside, not waiting for her reply.

-

  hearthstone walked down the stairs, slightly peeved he didnt know what time it was. yeah, he knew it was morning, but that could mean very different times. the darkness outside was nothing that helped.

  when he reached the downstairs, he didnt know he had just missed blitzen leaving. he didnt hear the front door slam shut, or the coffeepot that was still brewing.

  he took one step from the bottom of the stairs and into blitzens room, but the neat bed told him that he was already gone. but where to?

  hearth walked out of the room and went into the kitchen, instantly seeing the white paper contrasting against the black table top. he strided over and picked it up.

hearth,  
  hi buddy. i left for work, which is only fifteen minutes away. i stay there until i am dismissed, which is usually between 1-3. sorry for not telling you. if you have a big emergency, go to the house to the right of us and ask the nice old lady matilda.

  hearthstone's hand fisted. there was an old lady, he was so close! he was grateful there was blitz that helped him, though. he kept reading.

  there is cereal in the cupboard to the left of the microwave, milk in the fridge, or there is bread in the drawer below the cereal and a toaster by the oven.  
  you also might want to shower (no offense, you dont smell bad). i have body wash in the bathroom, shampoo, conditioner, and razors if you must use them...  
  clean them when you are finished with them, please.  
  i have clothes that you can use in my dresser by my bed. for you, i would choose from the top drawer and the one below that for the biggest sizes.  
  the television works, the remote is inside of the ottoman and has many channels. i wasnt prepared for guests, im very sorry.

  - blitzen :)

  that was the end of the note. blitzen had gone to incredible lengths to make sure hearthstone had a comfortable stay while he was gone, hearth noticed with a dumb, small smile on his face.

  he decided to start with cereal (blitzen bought frosted flakes, which was amazing). it didnt take long for him to finish a bowl, considering he hadnt eaten since yesterday afternoon.

  showering seemed like a good idea. his hair was getting tangled and slightly greasy, which made him feel grungy and out of place. if he were still in alfheim, he would have been avoided altogether.

  he put his bowl and spoon in the sink apologetically, not knowing where else to put it. then he went to the bathroom, where he saw how clean it really was. the shower wall was so clean he could see his face in it.

  he started the water, hoping that the knobs would be simple. then he began to undress by taking off his shirt and then his jeans, leaving him in his pants.

  shit, he thought. forgot to get clothes.

  he didnt notice the rattle of the walls as the front door slammed shut. he walked out into the hallway and was immediately plowed in to, sending him toppling on the ground with a quiet grunt and the wind knocked out of him.

  there was a weight on his hips, and he opened his eyes a crack to see what triggered his hurt spine.

  blitzen was straddling his hips, breathing heavily. his hands were gripping hearths shoulders as he tried to regain his breath.

  hearth was stuck staring at him. there was a small sheen of sweat on blitzens face, probably because he didnt really exercise. his tie was loose because he was unfastening it as he entered his house, and his button up shirt was slightly open, revealing part of his collarbone.

  and, oh yeah, he was right on top of hearthstone, who noticed every one of these details. he was in open-mouth horror. blitzen, open your eyes! get off!

  oh god. hearthstones eyes widened as he realised what his body was about to do.

  he immediately smacked blitzens hands off of him, then knocked blitz on his butt as he stood up, causing a headrush. he felt his face turn green with a blush.

  blitzen finally opened his eyes, alarmed. his eyes dragged up hearthstones body, up his elegant legs and to his hipbones and to his broad shoulders, and then finally landing on his mortified face.

  blitz realised what happened and stood up, coming up to hearths shoulders. "im sorry! i wasnt looking where i was going! im really-!"

  he stopped. hearthstone didnt urge him to keep going, and he seemed like he instead wanted to fall further into the floor and die.

  think gross thoughts, he thought. old, mouldy food. greasy hair. fish. man, i hate fish... farts. fart elves. he nearly laughed out loud at himself, but his mortification was still holding him in place. but, it was working. his body froze its reaction to blitzen and how he had straddled him, sweaty and-

  fuck. he needed to control his teenage hormones.

  "hearth? buddy, you okay?" blitzen put a hand on his shoulder, and hearthstone fought the urge to shove it off and run away.

  "i was coming in to change my clothes, i didnt mean to kill you with my weight." blitz tried to lighten the mood, but hearth was stone-faced trying to control himself.

  blitz cocked his head. "is my shower running?"

  then, he pieced everything together. with an 'O' on his lips, he looked down at hearthstones nearly nude body, then toward the bathroom behind the elf, and facepalmed.

  "you were going to shower, werent you?" and hearthstone nodded, lips pressed together.

  "oh- i'll just- yeah." blitzen walked past hearth and shut his bedroom door. it was the fastest clothing change he'd done in a long time, but he needed to leave or else junior would chastise him. 

  blitzen left hearthstone to get a change of clothes and have a shower, leaving him to his own thoughts.

-  
a/n: whats up guys i KNOW i keep using australian terms in here but bear with me, americans. suffer. also sorry for updating at six pm on a monday, you guys are probably busy with dinner or homework or something lol. bye


	6. apparently, blitzen has an elf now

  in case you didnt know already, it was never good when hearthstone was left to his own thoughts.

  as he stood, head hanging, he let the cold water wash down his tense back. he almost let that dwarf get him hard! it would have ruined his life, because hes only a teenager and his body often did things he didnt want it to. getting hard because someone touched him in a way that was even remotely romantic was an example of this.

  he tried to convince himself that it would have happened with a woman, too. if a hot dwarven lady tripped and fell and straddled hearths hips, then surely that would have had the same outcome, right? hearth had no experience with desire, really.

  blitzen didnt seem to be bothered by the fact that he had fell. he was too busy blushing and stuttering once he had realised that he was touching hearths nearly nude body, which made hearth furrow his brows to try not to blush. dammit, he was just messed up from dumb hormones!

  hearthstone chewed on his lip as he roughly grabbed for the body wash, catching it as before it fell from his force.

  opening the cap, he realised he didnt see anything that he could use to apply it.

  narrowing his eyes, he took a closer look around his head. there was nothing hanging on the wall- oh. there was a rack that had five different lufas, each a different colour and size. he didnt see because it was by his belly-button.

shrugging to himself, hearth grabbed a large, white one and applied what he assumed was a small amount. he started wiping it on his arms, then his legs, then his torso, and he tried to reach his back but probably ended up looking like some sort of spindly creature trying to grow a turtle shell.

he decided he would go without a back that smelled good next time. it wasnt worth embarrassing himself.

he began to wash out the white luffa he used, running his long fingers through it and draining the soap that didnt wipe off.

after he was done with that and washing his hair, he stood there like an idiot staring at the spot where blitzen put his razors. he didnt exactly have anything he needed to shave, but...

he absently raised his foot to scratch at his leg.

escaping Alfheim was supposed to bring change to his life. he had changed his address, his world, his friend count... he needed to have something to show for it.

  picking up a razor before he could change his mind, hearth set to work on changing himself for the better.

-

  blitzen didnt know what came over him back at home. why couldnt he be a normally functioning mortal for once? could he not act poised in the face of a nearly nude elf between his legs? a male elf, no less?!

  blitzen tried to be polite and not make a huge deal out of nothing. it was his fault, really. he had sprinted into his house looking like a mess and hadnt even thought of hearthstone not being able to hear him and prepare for it.

yep. definitely his fault.

of course, he felt very bad about it. hearth had looked horrified, embarrassed, and everything in in between. his whole body had turned a light shade of green (even more-so than usual), and his eyes glinted like a cat that had been caught doing something it wasnt supposed to be.

he'd flung blitz on the ground so hard, his ass still hurt. and the carpet had a wet stain that was probably still there, thanks to matilda.

he was taken from his thoughts when he heard a loud 'whoop!' from ahead of him.

blitz looked up, taking his hands out of his pockets to get ready for any trouble. all he got was an ugly group of three trash cans and a clogged toilet with matching beards.

  "hey, blitzen! how come youre so late?" nabbi called out, gathering pedestrians attention on purpose. "its very unprofessional. going on your record."

  blitzen let out a sigh and dragged himself forward and into helheim.

  "i dont have a record and you know it, you old buck." blitz muttered, "lets talk about it in private, huh?"

-

  the three trashcans, a clogged toilet, and a black dwarf that smelled like flowers walked into a bar... literally.

  blitz sat at the stools, automatically putting his head in his hand.

  "so, tell us, blitzen. whats your excuse?" nabbi asked as if he was interested (he wasnt).

  blitz wanted to try and lie to them, get out of the laughs he knew were going to come, but he knew it would be unfair to hearthstone. "i... i have an elf now."

  fuck! that totally came out wrong!

  the men's smiles died and they looked at eachother, not expecting that answer.

  junior was the first to break the heavy silence. "so... got yourself an exotic lady? your dad would have been proud."

  blitzen wanted a black hole to swallow him whole right then.

  "no. no, the elf isnt a lady." the silence came back, and only the faint clink of cups over in the lounge were heard.

  "well..." nabbi tried, but his voice died. "thats... good. for... you."

  blitzen didnt try to fix the situation. it would be too awkward for all involved, and who cared what these dusty old trashcans and a clogged toilet thought? not blitzen.

  junior stopped choking on his spit long enough the get out, "youre off today. treat your... elf nicely."

  so, without further word, blitzen left and took his time getting home.

-

  hearthstone turned off the knobs after a minute of fumbling with them and got a fluffy grey towel from the rack hanging from the door and swaddled himself in it.

  his teeth chattered from being under the freezing stream of water so long. the work he'd done with the razor had been worth it, he thought, and he had made sure to wash it off afterwards.

  he resisted the urge to feel or look at what he'd done until his skin was dry. it was a new experience for him, and made him feel amazing because if anyone in alfheim saw what he did, he might have been put in the nearest mental institution immediately.

hearth bent over and used the fabric to pat dry his legs, then rubbed his body and arms dry.

he was about to drop the towel and put on his clothes, but he felt a droplet of water on his shoulder. oh, he forgot to dry his hair.

  before moving to do anything, hearth took a long glance in the mirror.

  in the clear mirror, he could see a tall, thin and pale teenager with a sorrowful face. white hair hung in his eyes, since the last time he had a haircut was four months ago.

  hearth moved the towel to rub at his hair, droplets flying everywhere and onto the mirror without him meaning to.

  once he was done, hearth set down the towel and picked up the pair of black boxers blitzen had been kind enough to let him use. he put them on, then got the black shirt he had chosen from blitz's top drawer. surprisingly enough, the top draped off his shoulders and hung halfway down his thighs. how come blitzen had this enormous shirt?

  deciding he couldnt really do anything about it right now, hearth put on the grey sweatpants that were buried in the second drawer down.

  hearth cleaned up after himself as best as he could, but without knowing where anything went, he finished quickly and left with everything he used nicely folded on the countertop.

  when hearthstone waltzed into the living room, blitzen was taking off his boots and setting them by the door. he looked up, having heard hearths footsteps. instantly, hearth clenched his fist. why, overactive teenage imagination? why now?

  "hi, hearth." blitz greeted. he was brushing this off, and hearth was grateful. he didnt need things to be awkward after that.

  hearth waved and almost - almost - signed 'how are you?' but stopped himself. blitz was very early home, but he decided not to ask about it.

  was this how it needed to be? did hearth have to go through his life by reading lips and trying to mouth some stuff back, or write down his thoughts on paper? would he have to learn to speak english? helheim no. he couldnt do that.

  maybe blitzen could learn sign language. yeah, right.

  hearthstone gave a strained smile and sat on the couch, his leg tucked under him while the other rested on the floor. blitz walked over and got the remote from inside of the ottoman, then switched on the telly and quickly put on the captions. but he didnt look at the screen.

blitz tapped hearths knee and got his attention.

  "so, hearth," he began, gulping. "i think we need to talk. like, in the future."

  seeing hearth's eyebrows furrow worriedly rushed him to continue.

  "i would like to learn sign language so we can talk. you totally dont have to teach me, i can try and get classes or maybe-"

  blitz felt a hand tap his, and he stopped before he made an even bigger fool of himself.

  hearthstone nodded. without really using proper signs, he switched to universal signs because everyone knew them.

  he pointed to himself, then pretended to open a book and point out sentences, then he pointed to blitz. thankfully, blitz smiled really wide and nodded.

  "amazing! i'm ready, are you?"

  and, feeling suddenly on top of the world, hearth nodded and turned to face blitzen with a small smile.

-

woo boo-yea another chapter leggo man blitz boutta learn ASL lets GO im ready to finally put my knowledge to the test boii  
btw idk how to spell lufa or luffa lmao

the things that you wash your body with; what are they??? im clueless bye  
(sorry)


	7. eggrolls are definitely hel's recipe

  teaching blitzen ASL was not at all as planned. hearth wasnt cut out to be a teacher at all.

  like everyone should do, hearth began helping blitz with the alphabet. it was easy to memorise, there werent really any tricks to it, but that wasnt what the dwarf thought.

  "but- thats a, right? a isnt after r in the alphabet, its s!" blitz complained, but he held his hand in the air for hearth to gently fix.

  thumb here. not touching your pointer finger, hearth signed, not that blitz understood without physical help.

  "oh," he said quietly, moving his thumb to switch between a and s. "now thats just confusing."

  finally, hearth had given him the whole alphabet and numbers one through ten. but when hearth began with twenty all the way through one hundred, blitzen decided they should stop for the day because he was too unfocused.

  blitz offered hearth some egg rolls he had that were nearly expired (its not his fault he hardly has guests over to get rid of the stuff in his refridgerator!) and a glass of cherry pomegranate juice from the pitcher.

  hearth had never tried either of those things. the cuisine back in alfheim was regal and not at all like anywhere else. they didnt eat burgers, or crisps, or anything that was very greasy or made you sick if you ate too much of it. so when blitz put a plate with three eggrolls on it and a tall glass of juice in front of him, he stared at blitz as if he had three heads.

  "you dont like these or something?" blitz asked cluelessly.

  hearth scoffed and stared at the food glumly. he cant be picky. he wont make blitz prepare a five-star meal just for him. besides, he reminded himself, alfheim is in the past.

hearthstone stopped blitzens hand from taking away his meal and swallowed. he quickly signed 'thank you' and blitz backed off and sat across from hearth to eat his own food. he had the same thing.

hearth followed blitz's lead and picked up his heavy fork to slice off a piece of the egg roll. then he impaled it with the fork and brought it to his mouth.

blitz munched on the eggroll as he watched the world outside his window. he didnt look at hearth as he mentally prepared himself.

hearth quickly put the piece in his mouth and chewed once with his eyebrows furrowed. another chew. and then another, and another, and then he swallowed it.

blitz heard the loud gulp and was broken out of his trance. he looked over at hearth, who was frozen on the spot.

but hearth didnt sit for long. he dropped his fork with a loud clang! and rocketed out of his seat, sprinting over to the foot-lifted garbage can that was by the front door. he collapsed to his knees, his left one lifting the lid up.

for the next five seconds, blitz watched in stunned silence before he got up and rushed over to hearth to rub his back, letting him hurl and make miserable noises as his back trembled.

hearth immediately closed the lid once he was done, because he didnt want to look at what he just threw up.

blitz took his hand off hearths back and put it on his own lap instead. hearth crossed his legs and sat in front of blitzen.

"sorry for the egg rolls... i dont have much to make around here, i just survive off of ready-to-make meals, buddy," blitz apologised somberly.

  hearthstone nodded. he couldnt find the will power to move off of the floor, his mortification freezing him in place. he just barfed in front of his housemate! on the second day they knew each other!

  blitz thought for a moment, chewing on his lip and twiddling his thumbs.

  "how about you go and take some time in the tanning bed?" he said suddenly, and idea popping into his mind.

hearthstone thought about it. he did feel a bit faint (beside the vomit, of course), and it had been a full day since he had gotten any sunlight. a few hours in the tanning bed would definitely make him feel better.

so he nodded, getting up and stretching. he let out a soft sigh and then made his way to the button he tapped and the bed appeared. casting one last glance at blitz, he laid down and went to sleep.

blitzen waited to make his move ten seconds after hearth disappeared. one, he counted.

two. i need to choose a better outfit.

three. i wonder how long hearth will give me to do this.

four. i like the colour of his sweats- well, theyre mine. nevermind.

five. i hope i dont fuck this up.

six. man, i really hope hearth likes this.

seven. my closet needs to be cleaned, i left my wet shirt in there.

eight. my eggrolls are cold now.

nine. gods, im totally gonna be made fun of for this.

ten. well, shit. i have to do this.

and blitzen got up, ready to give hearth what he truly needed.

-

  even though he had lived there his whole life, blitz never got used to the feeling of nidavellir. it was gloomy, and sad, and the people there were mostly rude and obnoxiously exclusive.

  he felt like leaving almost day and night; but where would he go? true, he didnt really have anything tying him here... he only had distant relatives that lived here, but they hadnt spoken ever since the death of his father. they wouldnt even notice that blitz left, he thought bitterly.

blitzen found himself standing in front of nabbi's, a small, beat-up sign in front of the open door saying, 'COME IN, MEAD!'

  blitz wished he didnt know what he was doing here. but he did.

  he need the help of three trashcans and a clogged toilet.

  blitz walked in, scanning the room for either junior or nabbi. he found nabbi first- without realising it. blitz had been used to nabbi looking like this old man who probably golfed every sunday with a long, crusty and hairy sponge hanging from his chin. but when blitz walked closer, he saw the same hairy eyebrows, the gnarled hands, and the same awful smell attacked his nose. but what was different was there was no beard to be seen.

  "nabbi?" blitz asked as he sat down. the old man nodded with a triumphant smile.

  "bet you didnt recognize me, huh?" the man said, rubbing his hand on his chin. "i shaved right after you left, because i noticed a few hairs on your chin. figured i wouldnt ruin your dreams."

  blitz silently apologised to every person who had seen nabbi with a shaven face. he was ten times uglier with no beard to cover his chin.

  "thank you, nabbi," he settled for.

  "sure. now how come youre hanging out with me? wheres your exotic elf, huh?"

  blitzen chewed on his lip before answering. "i want to give him a present. to..." he hesitated. nabbi doesnt need to hear blitz pour his feelings out.

  "to show your love?" nabbi finished, assuming thats what he was going to say. "i feel you, kid. i used to have quite a mighty fine lady myself, if i do say so."

  blitz choked on air. no, no! he thinks i am dating hearthstone, i forgot!

  before blitz could fix this, junior walked in and nabbi took the immediate chance to gossip right in front of blitz.

"this kid wants my help to get his elf somethin' nice!" he gushes.

junior cracked an ugly, ancient smile and sat down next to blitz. this corpse always took any chance he could to humiliate blitz.

"well," the trashcan began, "to get a significant other a gift, you have to let them know you really want to give them a gift. everyone wants what they need- i even heard it in a song once, a dwarf sang it. has to be true." junior waved his hand listlessly, getting back on topic. "say your partner dresses pretty badly. i'm sure his clothing isnt up to your standards, it never is with you."

blitz kept a straight face, but inside his head he was considering the fact that, yes, hearth didnt dress very nicely. plus, he only had one outfit because the rest of his wardrobe was in alfheim.

"okay," blitz said slowly, "so i should get hea- er, my elf a better wardrobe?"

junior nodded smugly. then, his wrinkled face contorted into a regretful expression. "oh, dear! i forgot- nidavellir doesnt sell clothing you like. and you dont know how to travel the world tree. guess you cant get your elf something nice. your plan was a waste. bye."

  junior got up as fast as he could to take his leave, but blitz was faster and latched a hand on the old mans muscled arm. "hold on a minute," he said darkly.

  junior halted begrudgingly, but his trashcan guards subtly flexed their muscles threateningly.

  "i know i can go somewhere to get a decent coat or something," blitz said. "whether i need to use the world tree doesnt matter."

  junior hummed. "no, suppose not. fine, i'll tell you. theres a few places in midgard where you can go. to name a few, you have new york, or los angeles, or hollywood-"

"hollywood. why does that sound similar?" blitz interrupted before junior could finish. "i want to go there."

junior's mouth hung open slightly. "kid, you dont know anything about midgard. there are humans there- theyre not kind. a flower like you wouldnt survive, especially not that sunlight. also, an elf? in hollywood? absolutely not. no way it could work."

-

after what junior said, blitzen didnt wait for the trashcan to change his mind. going to midgard didnt seem like it would be impossible, especially since he and hearth werent dumb.

now, he just needed to get hearth to go with him. it was going to be an adventure, that was for sure. blitz was going to need some major sun protection gear to be able to get back to nidavellir unscathed, and not as stony as hearthstones expressions.

blitz had such an awesome plan for this trip.

-

a/n: i assume most of you have no idea where i'm going with this. but i do. worry not, little readers. rebecca has a plan for this shit storm :))

p.s. i have had some complications with this story, but i've known that that was happening. in the canon magnus chase series: nabbi is clean-shaven, which i decided to keep after thinking a bit. also, blitzen has an apartment that he rents on the third floor, which will come into play probably later on. aaand, the 'we have a pre-decapitation party with eggrolls' chapter is completely disregarded here and i declare that hearthstone didnt like eggrolls at first bye. also, i have to tell you guys that i cant tell the future (sorry to break it to you); this story will probably clash with the second book, in the sense that i've been filling in background holes for characters. uncle rick will prob go further into their stories in hammer of thor, so yeah. anyway. next few chapters are gonna be p cool :)

p.p.s.: i referenced frank iero bc im complete trash and i said hes a dwarf LMAO if any of you caught the ref im glad


	8. blitz, think of the children!

It all happened so quickly, it was rather difficult to gather what exactly was going down. Hearth remembered snippets of the conversation that he and Blitzen had, but there was so little of it that it was fruitless to even try to fight it.

 

_ "We are going to Midgard." _

 

_ "No, Hearth, don't pack that toaster, mortals have them there." _

 

_ "No, buddy, you'll fit right in. You don't need to worry." _

 

So, this is their next step? To travel to Midgard on such short notice was ridiculously Blitz-like. He  _ would  _ just pack half of his wardrobe into a stylish suitcase he made in twelve minutes－yes, twelve minutes－and whip up an action plan for life in Hollywood.

 

_ Blitzen, you really don’t think we can live in Midgard just because you think it’ll be fun. You likely thought of this on a coin-toss. _

 

“Don’t know half of what you’re saying, pal, but we’ll have a great time! I’ll dress accordingly, and there’s plenty more sun for you there than here in this dingy old cave. I’ve thought this out, really!”

 

Hearthstone didn’t know much about Midgard, but he  _ did  _ know about the sun. He also happened to know that dwarves turn to stone in direct sunlight for even short periods of time, and he also knew that Blitzen wouldn’t be able to fight that aspect of who he was, even with the attitude he put forward. Hollywood’s sun would be ruthless, and Hearth wouldn’t have a friend to spend time with. Just an old statue that might crumble to the touch. Hearthstone wouldn’t know.

 

One thing he was certain of, however, was that he was currently walking with Blitzen towards a spot where they could hop onto the World Tree and find a route to Hollywood, California. This was all what Blitz told Hearth, signing as they went along the streets.

 

“We’ll arrive in Mid－Hollywood, excuse me. Hearth, we’ll have to speak like the mortals if we don’t want to draw attention.”

 

_ Yes, Blitzen, I think that if we speak like normal mortals then we won’t draw any attention. We will blend right in. You, with your completely average clothes, and I, with my albinic physique and sign language. We’ll gain tons of friends. _

 

“Hearth, please. It’ll be awesome for both of us, I’ll make sure of it.  _ Anyway,  _ then we will easily find an apartment with my money－which, is like, a lot in dollars, the currency in America. We’ll settle down for some time and then we can decide if we want to stay. I just－” Blitzen stuttered for a moment before his voice fell short, and then he didn’t speak and instead stopped walking to give full attention to his signs. He dropped the suitcase handle to further annunciate.  _ I know that you’re miserable in Nidavellir. There’s no sun for you, and there’s nothing for me there. H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D will be good for us. _

 

Hearthstone patiently watched as Blitz finished signing, and a small smile crept onto his face. He nodded gratefully and nudged Blitzen happily, and they continued walking with private grins gracing their features. They didn’t talk any further until Blitz finally stopped them at the entrance to the World Tree.

 

“You’ve been on here before, yeah?”

 

Hearth nodded mutely.

 

Blitz didn’t waste his breath further and stepped inside, and Hearthstone followed, gingerly stepping onto the branch they encountered. There wasn’t an obvious change in temperature, but Blitz rubbed his arms almost absently as he looked around. Hearth instantly felt a nagging feeling at the front of his mind that Blitzen might be hearing the nastiest things from Ratatosk, the evil squirrel.

 

The shorter man began navigating his way forward, and it was an immeasurable amount of time later when a certain groove in the branch grabbed Blitz’s attention. He looked at Hearth and jerked his head towards the hole. There was too much anxiety in his face for it to be empty of intrusive thoughts supplied by the nuisance of the tree.

 

Hearthstone didn’t know how to comfort his friend without coming off as too gay, so he didn’t do anything except hold meaningful eye-contact as he lowered himself down.

 

Well, that was a bit gay as well, but Blitz seemed to appreciate it anyway.

 

“Wait!” Blitz exclaimed, dragging Hearthstone back up. His legs had just begun to feel warmth when he was pulled back onto the scratchy branch.

 

“I can’t believe I almost forgot. Here, hold on,” Blitzen shook his head at himself as he opened his suitcase and pulled out a long black trench coat and sunglasses along with pants and an overly large bowler hat. It looked sillier actually resting on his head, but Hearth swallowed his laugh. He knew that that hat was one of the only things keeping his best friend from becoming comatose in Midgard’s sunlight. “Better. All right. See you on the other side?”

 

Hearth nodded and swallowed the saliva building under his tongue. The nerves always got the best of him, especially when he knew that he was about to be exposed to unfamiliar territory. Now was sadly one of those times.

 

The only way to go was down, and he knew it, so he slipped through the opening in the limb and slid like there was no tomorrow.

Do you know how it feels to have your face touching sizzling sand as hot as the sun－which happened to be baking it?

 

Still don’t get the picture? Maybe you had to have been there. Coincidentally like how Hearthstone was at the very moment.

 

He was fearing for his life because of the null feeling in his head. He must have hit it on the way through to Midgard, because it was killing him. The pain was quickly receding, though, and he turned onto his back to get his bearings.

 

The first thing he noticed was the people－gathered in large groups, small groups, but there was nobody alone. Even the lithe women and men on towels with hardly any clothes on had smiling people beside them, enjoying the ambience of the popular beach. The beach itself was beautiful, with waves bluer than anything Hearthstone had ever seen before lolling onto the white-hot sand. The sky reflected against the water cheekily, the clouds disguising themselves as large white creatures that wouldn’t quite break the thin skin of water that kept them from the air, smelling of warm foods and sweat.

 

Hearth wished that he knew where Blitzen was just so that they could take in the sight together. Unfortunately, his partner in crime was caught up in other matters.

 

“Really, sir, I just didn’t dress appropriately for the beach, I wasn’t planning on coming today, it just  _ happened,  _ I haven’t done anything wrong－!”

 

The man in a black  **STAFF** shirt didn’t seem to be buying Blitzen’s excuses. All the mortal saw was a shrimpy man in a long wool overcoat in the middle of summer at the beach. Despite the fact that Blitz looked as harmless as a fly didn’t stop him from deciding to usher him forcefully off of the boardwalk, not bothering to stop people from bumping into the both of them.

 

“Really!” Blitzen shouted behind him at the man, who was already walking away. “I’ll tell your superiors about this!”

 

Then Blitz looked at Hearth. “Good trip?”

 

With a bit of a dry look, Hearth shook his head.  _ Hot. My head hurts. _

 

Blitz adjusted his sunglasses and nodded cheerily. “The tree will do that to a guy. You get used to it, don’t worry. Now how about we find somewhere for tonight?”

 

a/n: uhhh im back after more than a year and you shouldnt have read this bc i hate myself and my writing style has changed and so many things have happened (SHIP OF THE DEAD WHICH I HAVEN’T READ YET BECAUSE I KNOW I’LL BE DEPRESSED) but !!! will finish this pos sometime


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